U.S. Passports for Mexico
- Maria Ojeda Viera
- Mar 6, 2024
- 2 min read
Do I need a passport for Mexico? That's possibly the first question when planning to travel to Tijuana, Mexico.
If you were born in the United States then the answer NO, you do not need a U.S. Passport, unless you will be traveling 50 miles or more into Mexico from the United States/Mexico Border. If you're simply going to travel no further south than Ensenada, then you don't really need a passport. Mexico Law Enforcement Officers do not want to see a passport, even if you try to hand one to them, they will likely refuse it and ask that you show them your State issued driver's license or identification card.
When a person, who was born in the United States, returns to the United States from Mexico:
-They can cross into the United States with nothing (ie. if identification cards are lost) or with just a State issued identification card or driver's license but then the "All Traffic Lanes" must be used (which typically has longer lines because so many people cross without a passport).
-They can cross with an Original Birth Certificate and a State issued identification card or driver's license and use the "Ready Lanes" like someone with a passport because those two items are as good as a passport for crossing from Mexico into the United States. An Original Birth Certificate and a State issued identification card or driver's license is what a person submits to obtain a passport so it is as good as a passport when crossing from Mexico into the United States.
-Individuals who have a Passport and individuals who simply have an Original Birth Certificate along with a State issued identification card or driver's license are permitted to use the "Standard Lanes" or "Ready Lanes" to cross from Mexico into the United States.